25/04/2013

International Music Summit

MAY 22-24 - 2013

Joining the legendary line up this year is Jean Michel Jarre, one of the
earliest pioneers of synthesised music, who will take part in a keynote
interview, offering an insight into one of the finest musical brains of
a generation. On his forthcoming appearance, Jean Michel Jarre said,

“I
was excited to discover the IMS event in Ibiza and particularly the
values it holds for a genre of music which I’ve been involved in from
the early beginnings. I continue to push the genre forward in many ways,
and I see my Keynote Interview at IMS as a way to continue to
communicate my passions to a wider and younger audience – who appear to
be today’s trailblazers for this genre, all united in one location.”

16/04/2013

He hopes Branson’s UAE space partners can help

French electronic musicians Jean Michel
Jarre, who played to the largest audience ever – to 3.5 million people
in Moscow in 1997 – is looking to better than with a gig on the moon and
is hoping Richard Branson and the UAE can help him to it, he told Time Out Dubai in an exclusive interview.

“My
friend [science fiction writer] Sir Arthur Charles Clarke told me one
day, “You know, you could play on the moon”,’ the 64 year-old Jarre told
Time Out Dubai.

‘I said it wasn’t reasonable, but with the help of Richard Branson, who knows?’ he added.

Billionaire
business tycoon Richard Branson has set up Virgin Galactic with partner
in Abu Dhabi and is aiming to start commercial flights into space in
the not too distance future.

A number of celebrities have signed
up as passengers, including actress Kate Winslet, comedian Russell
Brand, actor Ashton Kutcher and scientist Stephen Hawking.

More down to earth, find out what Jarre thinks of Dubai by reading the full interview with him
here : vientdemee

13/04/2013

"The idea of having concerts in space is very exciting"

- John Spencer (Head Of The Space Tourism Society)

The Launch Project is the movement that started almost immediately after what is now the Virgin Galactic brand’s spaceship won the x-prize and helped usher in the new era of Space Tourism. Soon to evolve into ‘ONE GIANT GIG FOR MANKIND’ it is an all encompassing multi-media venture behind the first live musical performance from the edge of space.

ONE GIANT GIG FOR MANKIND will consist of; the weightless performance itself from 62 miles above the earth. A live 3-D broadcast of the event to the whole world, via TV, Internet, mobile devices and cinema screens. There will be several major concerts on terra firma from around the world, all with a direct feed of the show. A feature film documenting the journey of music in space from astronauts taking up their own instruments, to the unravelling race by music artists to be first. The performance itself will be used for a stunning IMAX presentation, that will be adapted to work in planetarium facilities, providing a much more visceral experience of being there with the artist.

The show from space will also be celebrated by thousands of pop-up events spread across the planet marking this groundbreaking day in music history and a unique milestone in our civilisation.

The Launch Project is being propelled forward by the company Nought2Sixty Productions who are an off-world entertainment consultancy as well as an on-earth production company. The Launch Project aims to bring to the universe this history making event in MAY 2013

Oxygene Part I

Oxygene Part VI

Jarre's 1976 solo album Oxygène was responsible for his rise to
international stardom. Oxygène comprises six numbered synthesiser tracks
that make strong use of melody, rather than rhythm or dissonance.
Oxygène makes use of the Dutch Eminent 310, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone
phaser on the Eminent's string pads, the Korg Minipops drum machine and
liberal use of echo on various sound effects generated by the VCS3
synthesiser.

All those ethereal sounds on Oxygène IV come from
the VCS3 ...It was the first European synthesizer, made in England by a
guy called Peter Zinovieff. I got one of the first ones. I had to go to
London in 1967 to get it, and it's the one I still have onstage 40 years
later
—Jean Michel Jarre,

A minimalist concept album recorded at
his home studio, on a small budget, Oxygène initially proved difficult
to sell. Jarre was turned down by several companies, until Schaeffer's
fellow student, Hélène Dreyfus (at the time her husband Francis's
artistic director), persuaded her husband to publish the album on his
label Disques Motors. The first pressing of 50,000 copies was promoted
through hi-fi shops, clubs, and discos.

I just had three or four
synthesizers and was using a Scully eight-track and a mixture of Ampex
256 and 3M tape. The whole album was done on just one eight-track and
you can hear that in the piece — it's quite minimalist and I think that
contributes to its timelessness
—Jean Michel Jarre,

By April 1977
Oxygène had sold 70,000 copies in France. Interviewed in Billboard
magazine, Dreyfus director Stanislas Witold said "In a sense we're
putting most of our bets on Jean Michel Jarre. He is quite exceptional
and we're sure that by 1980 he will be recognised worldwide. Oxygène has
since sold an estimated 12 million copies—the best-selling French
record of all time. It reached number 2 in the UK album charts, number
65 in Canada, and broke the top 100 in the US. The album contains his
most recognisable single, "Oxygène IV"'which reached number 4 in the UK
single charts.

11/04/2013

Oxygène 7--13...is a 1997 album of instrumental electronic music by
Jean Michel Jarre, his ninth overall studio album. It is the sequel to
his 1976 album Oxygène, and is dedicated to Jarre's former mentor,
experimental musician Pierre Schaeffer. While the album was recorded
using many of the same synthesizers as Oxygène, and the titling suggests
a continuation from where the first album ends, many tracks have a more
uptempo, trance-like character. The album is not as widely acclaimed as
the original Oxygène, but has been quite successful nonetheless,
especially among fans. Released approximately twenty years after the
worldwide release of the first Oxygène, it is Jarre's final album in his
traditional style (exclusive of Oxygène: New Master Recording), and
thus comes full circle. It was also the last album by Jarre featuring
Michel Geiss as collaborator.

"Oxygène 7", "Oxygène 8" and
"Oxygène 10" have been released as singles. A number of remixes of
Oxygène 7--13 tracks have been made, including those comprising most of
the album Odyssey Through O2. The Orb's single "Toxygene" was originally
intended for release as a remix for the single release of "Oxygène 8",
but was rejected by Jarre for being too distant from the original.

Jean Michel Jarre first came to international fame with his number one hit album, Oxygene which went on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide.

A pioneer in his field, Jarre has largely contributed to the fastest
growing musical revolution of the 20th century, electronic music:
conceiving music in terms of sounds rather than only in terms of notes,
and thus allowing the composer to become his own craftsman.

Having followed formal studies of harmony and counterpoint at the
Conservatoire de Paris, he was inspired to reinvent music at its core,
with his own singular vision, deploying the technology and tools of his
epoch. This pioneering approach gave birth to worldwide hit albums such
as: Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, Zoolook, Rendezvous, Waiting for Cousteau…with over 80 million albums sold to date.

He also conceived a brand-new genre and format of concerts; breaking
away from the traditional theatre and arena context, Jarre brought his
music and vision outdoors to the masses. Often free and open-to-all,
these state-of-the-art concert-spectaculars showcase the natural or
urban environment in which they are performed – a truly singular sonic
and visual “land-art” event, conceived and performed on a unique scale
for a one-off experience.

Jarre’s legendary concerts have attracted Guinness Record-breaking
audiences across the world. They take place in exceptional settings,
marking extraordinary contexts: first western musician invited to
perform in post-Mao Red China, Millennium at the Great Pyramids of
Egypt, Houston City concert in collaboration with NASA in memory of the
Challenger space crew, Concert for His Holiness Pope John Paul II,
France’s Eiffel Tower in celebration of World Cup victory, Gdansk’s
shipyard at the initiative of Nobel Peace laureate Lech Walesa, London’s
Docklands, Beijing’s Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, the Sahara
Desert…to the absolute record live audience of 3.5 million in Moscow.

Most recently, Jean Michel Jarre embarked on his first ever world
tour which has already taken him to over 30 countries with over 220
performances.

In July 2011, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco called upon Jean Michel
Jarre to celebrate his Royal Wedding by creating and performing a
concert-event in the Principality of Monaco which was largely broadcast
on television and Internet worldwide to an estimated audience of 3
billion.

The French musician has a dedicated ongoing engagement to the United
Nations via UNESCO, as Ambassador and spokesperson for Environment and
Education.

I
just escaped from the recording studio to come here and contribute to
the Higher Colleges of Technology’s 25th anniversary Education Without
Borders event, as a United Nations ambassador for UNESCO. But it’s
always a pleasure to be here.

In the ’70s your music was described as representing a vision of the future.

The
main difference between when I started and now is that we’re always
recycling things generation after generation. Rather than being focused
on the future, we’re now a lot more focused on vintage brands and
nostalgia.

You’ve been married to three
famous actresses – Flore Guillard, Charlotte Rampling and Anne
Parillaud-Jarre – are actresses your type of lady then?

Not anymore! It’s over now, it was a phase in my life – a long phase – but now I’m cured.

You’re quite a private person aren’t you?

I
like organising parties, I have lots of friends, but I don’t feel close
to the showbiz world, the music, cinema, celebrity thing. I’m not into
this – even if I have been trapped by the media at times.

Are the reports that you considered a move to London as a tax exile untrue?

That
is another episode. I love London, I love England. Charlotte Rampling
the mother of our children is English, our three children are
half-and-half by definition. What happened is I have contacts developing
a new project in London, which is actually an academy of electronic
music.

Do you have any plans to perform in the Middle East?

It’s
been one of my dreams for a long time. When you think of doing an
outdoor concert on a large scale, where else but here? For me the Burj
Khalifa – this for me is not megalomania, it’s ambition to fulfil a
dream. It’s very audacious and it’s also a very poetic symbol towards
the [financial] crisis. You feel in the UAE that Westerners have a lot
to learn, we should be less arrogant and have more humility about what’s
going on in other parts of the world, not just economically but
conceptually.

You’ve played to the largest audience ever,
of 3.5 million in Moscow in 1997, and were the first Western musician to
perform in Communist China. What next? How about a gig on the moon,
maybe?

My friend [the science fiction writer] Sir Arthur
Charles Clarke said, ‘You know, you could play on the moon’. I said,
‘It’s not reasonable,’ but with the help of Richard Branson, who knows?

From oddball outcast to record-breaking
superstar, Jean Michel Jarre helped usher in the synth-heavy sound of
the 1980s. Now the French electro pioneer is looking to change the world
once again through his work with the United Nations

While
preparing to interview Jean Michel Jarre, I stumbled across a top-rated
YouTube comment lauding the musician’s brand of pioneering electronica,
while blasting his modern-day counterparts.
“It’s a disgrace that people like Skrillex and David Guetta go on
stage and literally push a play button when people like JMJ are doing
this,” said commenter Jordannadroj20, garnering 36 upvotes in agreement.

The video in question – a live performance of Oxygène II in
Poland which has more than seven million hits – captures Jean Michel’s
manic stage presence, as the Frenchman leaps through a jungle of
synthesisers to perform the otherworldly instrumental.

But as he sits across the table from me in an Emirates Towers
conference room, the relaxed 64-year-old dismisses the suggestion that
technology is replacing raw talent in a music world saturated by
synthetic sounds.

“From generation to generation, technology has inspired the same
‘pushing a button’ phrase,” says Jean Michel. “When the organ was
invented in the 16th century, people were burnt for playing an
instrument that came from Satan. At that time, people were saying it
wasn’t a real instrument and that it was just pushing a button.

“When I started, it was the same thing with oscillators on
keyboards,” he continues. “People said, ‘They’re not instruments’
because culturally they were used to something different.”

The talkative Lyon native has remained on
the pulse of what’s currently happening in the assorted fields of
electronic music. Undeniably influential on a swathe of artists in the
past 35-plus years, Jarre says the pendulum also swings the other way.

“Some of the younger acts are also now a big influence for me – from
Justice and Daft Punk to Chemical Brothers, Moby or the dubstep scene.
There are so many interesting genres of music under the electronic
umbrella these days. It’s all very rich and exciting.”

And he is unashamedly utilitarian in his musical outlook, insisting the ends can always justify the means.

“By principle, I would defend all those new ways of making music,”
says Jean Michel. “It’s not about pushing a button – at the end of the
day, it’s only the result that counts. Who cares if it’s done with a
keyboard or a virtual instrument?

“The emotion doesn’t come from the instrument, it comes from the person wielding it. But you’ll always be someone’s devil.”

SYNTH ODDITY

This fierce defence of today’s new breed
dates back to his own time as an envelope-pusher – although in the
mid-1970s, Jean Michel appeared to be fighting a losing battle in the
era of glam rock and disco.

Born into a creative family in 1948, Jean
Michel’s youth was divided between his mother and her own parents. He
immersed himself in piano studies and painting, and developed an
interest in jazz during his teenage years, before continuing his studies
at the Conservatoire de Paris.

But perhaps the singlemost influential figure in Jean Michel’s
transition to electronica was Pierre Schaeffer – inventor of the avant
garde ‘musique concrète’ genre which mixed the late composer’s love of
science and music.

“Pierre taught me this idea that music isn’t made of notes and
harmonies, but sounds,” Jean Michel tells us. “Music is like cooking –
it’s a tactile way of dealing with these sounds and frequencies.”
After a couple of failed attempts at launching a meaningful solo career, Jean Michel released the home-recorded Oxygène
in late 1976. With its experimental sound, complete lack of vocals and
an average song length of six-and-a-half minutes, he once more struggled
initially to capture anyone’s attention.

“All the record companies refused my album,” he recalls, “eventually it was just a small independent label that released Oxygène.
Plus there were lots of people sending their LP back to the store,
saying there was a problem with the music, because it started with some
white noise.”

Despite its inauspicious roots, the album became both an
international phenomenon and a seminal recording of its day – helping
usher in the synth-drenched era to come.

He followed this up in 1978 with concept album Équinoxe, and
performed in Paris for a record-breaking crowd of one million people
the following year to celebrate France’s Bastille Day on July 14.

(Jean Michel would go on to top his Guinness World Record for
performing to an outdoor crowd three times – by playing to 1.5 million
people in Texas in 1986, 2.5 million people in Paris in 1990 and 3.5
million people in Moscow in 1997).

AN ECO-ECUCATION

As well as selling an estimated 80 million albums in his lengthy
career and gaining a reputation for his absurdly ostentatious stage
shows, Jean Michel has also worked for UNESCO (The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) as a Goodwill
Ambassador since 1993.

And it’s in this capacity that he came to the UAE last week, to mark
the 25th anniversary of the nation’s Higher Colleges of Technology
institution, as well as to contribute to local think tanks and meet
leading educational figures.

“I like the link made in Dubai between education, technology and environment. It’s an interesting triangle,” says Jean Michel.

“At the end of the 20th century, I think we lost our vision and our
hopes for the future. It’s time to recreate that vision, and cities like
Dubai are providing that sort of heroic fantasy.”

At present, the father-of-two divides his
time primarily between Paris and London, where he’s in talks to launch
an academy of electronic music in the city’s East End. Jean Michel is
also eschewing his typically heavy touring schedule to record a new
album “about reemerging DNA” with musicians from around the world.

But the musician also remains eager to ensure he’s helping to provide
a more robust and optimistic future for the planet and its inhabitants.

“When I started with Oxygène, not many people were involved
in ecology,” says Jean Michel. “No political parties were interested in
this neo-hippy dream. Now more or less everyone on the planet today is
aware of the importance of the environment.

“It should work that way for education. More than one billion people
are illiterate – it’s only through education that we’ll be able to
understand anything from extremism to financial crises to global
warming. That message shouldn’t be addressed to governments only, but
also to people in the street.

“It’s through education that you can balance pragmatism with a vision for the future.”

08/04/2013

Revolutions is the sixth overall studio album by Jean Michel Jarre,
first released in 1988. The album spans several genres, including
symphonic industrial, Arabian inspired, light guitar pop and ethnic
electro jazz. The album reached number #2 in the UK charts, Jarre's best
chart position since Oxygène. The Destination Docklands concert in
London coincided with the release of the album.

One of the
definitions of the word "Revolutions" is that it is a change of ideals
and practices, this should always be in the forefront of your mind when
listening to the album because it not only describes the albums musical
story, it describes the story of the musical change made by jmj from
light hits such as oxygene/equinox to revolution.

There are two
versions of the album, each containing a different version of the track
"Revolutions". On the original release, the introduction to the tune is
played on a Turkish flute, whereas the later reissue of the album uses
an Arabian string orchestra for the introduction. This version also has a
different vocal accompaniment, as sung by an Arabian vocalist.[citation
needed] "Revolutions" contains reworked samples of an unpublished
composition by Turkish Kudsi Erguner, which Jarre had acquired from
ethnologist Xavier Bellenger. Erguner took his case to court and won a
modest indemnity. Jarre removed the ney flute part from new releases
of the record and from live performances.

The song "London Kid"
was a collaboration with Hank Marvin. Hank was living in Perth,
Australia at the time and he and Jean Michel composed the song with each
other over the phone.

As noted in the liner notes, the track
"September" is named after and dedicated to South African ANC activist
Dulcie September, who was assassinated in Paris on 29 March 1988.

Jarre's 1976 solo album Oxygène was responsible for
his rise to international stardom. Oxygène comprises six numbered
synthesiser tracks that make strong use of melody, rather than rhythm or
dissonance. Oxygène makes use of the Dutch Eminent 310,
Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser on the Eminent's string pads, the
Korg Minipops drum machine and liberal use of echo on various sound
effects generated by the VCS3 synthesiser.

All those ethereal
sounds on Oxygène IV come from the VCS3 ...It was the first European
synthesizer, made in England by a guy called Peter Zinovieff. I got one
of the first ones. I had to go to London in 1967 to get it, and it's the
one I still have onstage 40 years later
—Jean Michel Jarre,

A
minimalist concept album recorded at his home studio, on a small
budget, Oxygène initially proved difficult to sell. Jarre was turned
down by several companies, until Schaeffer's fellow student, Hélène
Dreyfus (at the time her husband Francis's artistic director), persuaded
her husband to publish the album on his label Disques Motors. The first
pressing of 50,000 copies was promoted through hi-fi shops, clubs, and
discos.

I just had three or four synthesizers and was using a
Scully eight-track and a mixture of Ampex 256 and 3M tape. The whole
album was done on just one eight-track and you can hear that in the
piece — it's quite minimalist and I think that contributes to its
timelessness
—Jean Michel Jarre,

By April 1977 Oxygène had
sold 70,000 copies in France. Interviewed in Billboard magazine, Dreyfus
director Stanislas Witold said "In a sense we're putting most of our
bets on Jean Michel Jarre. He is quite exceptional and we're sure that
by 1980 he will be recognised worldwide. Oxygène has since sold an
estimated 12 million copies—the best-selling French record of all time.
It reached number 2 in the UK album charts, number 65 in Canada, and
broke the top 100 in the US. The album contains his most recognisable
single, "Oxygène IV"'which reached number 4 in the UK single charts.

When it comes to electronic music, there is a godfather and his name is Jean Michel Jarre.

Jocelyn Clarke talks to him about joining up the dots.

On his new album, "Metamorphoses", Jean Michel Jarre uses the stuttering
electronic interference of a mobile phone to underpin the rhythm track of
the song "Tout Est Bleu". It's a technological prank from a maveric
composer who has defined and redefined electronic music over the last 25
years, ever since the release of his seminal and groundbreaking album,
"Oxygene". The mobile phone gag, along with the sample of a chattering lawn
sprinkler ("Miss Moon"), the vocal appearances by Laurie Anderson ("Je Me
Souviens"), Natacha Atlas ("C'est La Vie"), and Jarre himself ("Gloria",
"Lonely Boy"), not to mention the eclectic cross-pollination of music styles
and references (from Algerian rai and Irish fiddle to the signature sounds
of Underworld and Orbital) mark a new and innovative direction in Jarre's
musical career. And of unexpected accidents.
"This mobile sound happened because my mobile phone was close to a speaker
and each time I tried to record this bloody song, the phone went off and
interfered with it. Then I realised it might be nice to involve it. It's
also nice to integrate a bit of humour into technology as well. Accidents
are the basis of any arts form, even songs. When you are composing a song
on the piano, what makes you find the next note vis a vis the previous one
is an accident in a sense. I love to exploit any kind of accident."
With "Oxygene" (1976), "Equinoxe" (1978) and "Magnetic Fields" (1981), Jarre
liberated electronic music from its domination by wireheads and academics -
think of the early IRCAM performances with boffins twiddling knobs on stage
- and brought it to the forefront of popular culture. All three albums sold
several million copies each, and Jarre was voted Man Of The Year in People
magazine. With his first outdoor Place de la Concorde concert in Paris for
Bastille Day in 1979, and the later 1986 Rendezvous Houston and 1987
Destination Docklands concerts, Jarre brought an unparalleled showmanship to
electronic music, combining video projection with laser displays into
uber-spectacles which transformed cities into arenas - both Paris and
Houston set records with attendances of one million plus.
"When I discovered the idea of electronic music, I didn't think that it was
just an odd or eccentric way of doing music, but one which could become a
style or a genre in itself. I always considered that electronic music, the
fact that music was made with electronic instruments, was not the goal in
itself. I really tried to explore how electronic music could be an
alternative because I was always convinced that it would be a true
alternative to rock & roll, and by also exploring how to perform electronic
music with instruments that were not devised for stage performance. That's
why I have been involved in an experimental way with these big shows, and by
trying to integrate visual techniques with the music, I have tried to find
the right vocabulary and grammar to translate and convey electronic music on
stage.
"Our grandparents used to say that they were going to listen to somebody
playing in a theatre or a hall. These days, we say that we are going to see
somebody. It means that because of CD and mindisc technology, we are
listening to music at home, in our cars and even on the internet, so when we
go to see artists performing, it is with a different expectation - of
something more on the visual point of view. The main difference, for me,
between electronic music and any other kind of music is the fact that you
can deal not only with notes or arpeggios or chords but also with sounds. I
always considered electronic music to be like cooking, about mixing all the
ingredients. And then when electronic scene exploded in the Nineties, it
was really like a lot of people joining a tribe with this very intuitive,
organic tactile approach to music. And each time electronic music acts
tried to express themselves from a performance point of view, they used
projection, video screens, lights lasers, either on stage or in clubs.
It's now become a real grammar for electronic music." Though
he defined the technological and visual grammar for electronic music
with his early albums and live performances, after the underrated and
experimental "Zoolook" Jarre's musical output (1984), took a turn for
the bland. He began recycling musical ideas from his earlier work for
his large-scale spectacles that emphasised the visual at the expense of
musical-his Houston and Lyons albums were little more than soundtracks
for the eye. The late Nineties found him at a curious crossroads, with
Jarre both the
subject and sample source for club and rave acts - the remix album "An
Odyssey Through O2" - and revisiting his own past with a sequel album,
"Oxygene 7-13" with which he tried unsuccessfully to "complete" the
original
"Oxygene".
"Metamorphoses" is therefore a new adventure for Jarre. "After having
revisited the past with the previous album and not being too happy with it,
I really wanted to open a new chapter by having a more sensual and organic
approach to the electronic sounds, concentrating on the groove and the
drumbeat, and involving vocals of my own and of other people, processed or
not. "Metamorphoses" came from the idea of change, and the changes I wanted
to express were coming from my own feelings. I wanted to express them and
myself in a different way"
While long recognised as a formative presence in the electronic music scene,
Jarre is happy to acknowledge its influence on him on "Metamorphoses" - the
Orbital dubbiness of "Bells" and the Underworldly "Hey Gagarin". Equally in
its cross-pollination of musical styles and cultures, Jarre, notoriously
against the "neo-colonialism of World Music", embraces the polyglotism of
dance culture with its eclectic sampling, notably with Natacha Atlas on
"C'est La Vie". On "Metamorphoses", Jarre reaffirms his stature as the
eminence gris of electronic music while still retaining his maverick
credentials - he once famously shocked the music world during its hysterical
"Home Taping Kills Music" campaign by telling the public to pirate.
"Sometimes people ask me if I have considered myself as having been an
influence on some bands in the electronic scene. Frankly I think that all
this talk of "godfathers of techno" and all that is marketing bullshit from
record companies, because I have no claim on that. I think it is rather
ridiculous. You do things on your own, and people can be influenced by what
you are doing. People such as the Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Aphex
Twin, Leftfield, Orbital and Air are all people who have been very
influential on my music. I think that music is about sharing. People
forget that music is about the sharing of emotions and feelings. Music is
about recycling emotions and remixing ideas. If I have any legitimacy to do
electronic music, I think it's because I have always done it. I wouldn't do
a record if it was not with the ambition of trying to contribute to the
electronic music scene by doing something personal or different." "Metamorphoses" is out now on Epic Records.>

The rise in popularity of dance music and club culture over the last 20
years has been phenomenal. We secured an exclusive live chat with Jean
Michel Jarre, widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of the
electronic soundscape.
Jarre is best known today for his epic laser-embellished live concerts,
but his first commercial hit came in 1977 with the album Oxygène. The
record was way ahead of its time, forming a template that has influenced
many of the popular DJs and dance music producers of recent times.
Check out the official JMJ website and the fan site, Revolution, for a comprehensive discography.
In 1979 he held the first in a series of massive open-air concerts in
Paris, the million-strong crowd earning him a place in the Guinness Book
Of World Records. Amazingly he topped this figure in 1990, with over
2.5 million fans converging to see him perform a Bastille Day concert.
He's back with the latest instalment in a pioneering career that has
spanned three decades. Now you know the history, here's your chance to
read the transcript with the Godfather of Trance...

Stephen Taylor I
think the change in approach with the new album is refreshing for 2000.
Lyrics in a Jarre song?!! Is this going to be a permanent change for
you to write tracks with words, or is Metamorphoses a unique project?

JMJ I
have no idea, it's like being in the middle of a metamorphosis, you
never know how it will end. I have had a lot of fun doing this project.
It has been quite refreshing for me. When you start to integrate words,
you start to be in a narrative process; you find emotions, you find
words, you find a way of being less abstract. Also all of this was
created entirely on a computer, everything has been done with new
software called Prototype, so it is all very different. I would really
like to explore more of this idea of mixing electronic music with words,
and the statement that electronic music is linked with instrumental
concerts. It is nice to explore different styles and I would really like
to explore more.

wulumuluYou've
played concerts in some great places, Houston, China, Russia, Hong
Kong... Where in the world would you like to play assuming there were no
technical restraints? (by the way, Wooloomooloo has grown on me!)

JMJ I
think for me, Egypt was that in a certain sense. My next outdoor
project will be tailor-made for cyberspace. I never know when I am going
to do all these rock shows and outdoor events again. I think my next
project of performance will be in smaller clubs.

TeeJ Bonsoir, Jean Michel. Were you disappointed in the Cairo gig, with the weather et al?

JMJ The
fog contributed to the mystery of the whole night, a sort of Egyptian
Woodstock. It was an unforgettable moment. At the end of the night, we
had a bit of rain and snow; the best omen in Egypt is to start a new
year with snow.

Marcos Mr. Jarre, do you have plans to bring your show to South America (Chile) someday?

JMJ I am quite committed to do a tour at the end of this year in South America.

Jan Henriet You said in an interview for Dutch radio, "I do like singers, as long as they keep their mouths shut". What changed your mind?

JMJ I don't remember saying that, but for some of them, it is definitely true.

Lucas Gonzalez OjedaDo you see Metamorphoses as the Zoolook of this 2000 year?

JMJ Not
really, no. Zoolook is an album with Laurie Anderson, involving vocals
in a different way. It's not for the meaning of the words, but for the
sounds, playing in a phonetic way. Metamorphoses is an album where the
lyrics are approached in a minimalistic way, but the meaning of the
words are important.

miltexOn
your latest album (Metamorphoses) most tracks have the lyrics in the
cover, but not Bells, why not? Everyone is wondering what is said in
that track, is it possible for you to tell us?

JMJ It
is called playing with words, playing with the name Isabelle and Is a
Bell: very smart. I was not as proud as that to print this on the cover!

Finlay Shakespeare In
the past, you have seemed to be a man who likes to work largely alone.
Have you found that your recent collaborations (with TK, Laurie
Anderson, Natasha Atlas etc) have been more rewarding and productive?

JMJ I
have always been involved with lots of people, I never felt that I was
ever lonely or just on my own. When you are doing a song or are part of a
band, you do it more solo, but the idea... electronic music is
something different. It is like cooking, when you are in front of your
oven, you don't want to share your recipes.

FireTours involve much work, do you still have time to develop new music in your studio?

JMJ For
Metamorphoses, I went to the south of France on my own. It was the
first time I did this, I tried to be isolated for a while and tried to
develop ideas, without phone calls and interruptions.

MazMonsieur
Jarre, what do you think of the electronic music today (like trance,
breakbeats etc) compared to the early Nineties and the Eighties?

JMJ What
is exciting with electronic music is that you have so many different
styles. It is like when jazz or rock'n'roll started; you have a fresh
approach with sounds, with electronic sounds. It is something new,
dealing with sounds, something different - it really is something else,
you have so many sectors, and it's very exciting.

Daniel StevensSurely you have a favourite track on Metamorphoses. Which one is it?

JMJ It
is a very unfair question because I love them all; I wrote a lot of
music and I kept what was relevant. Some of them are definitely history
and some of them may be developed for other projects. I would say Je Me
Souviens has a very organic approach to sounds, a series of generic
words, and I think Laurie is brilliant at that.

BignathJust one small question about Millions Of Stars... What do the letters mean?... Notes or stars' positions?

JMJ It
is simpler than that. They are just name of notes: for example, D6 is
the note, D6 is played. It is creating an audio link with stars and
visualising the notes which are going to be played on the keyboard.

SigneAre you still not single:-)))))))

JMJ What
do you mean by that? I am exploring at the moment and obviously the Web
is very practical for that, the main activity of the Net is based on
meeting people.

Low-ekJMJ:
about the second single, your fans have chosen Hey Gagarin on a poll.
Are you going to follow us or let Sony choose the track they want?

JMJ This
is a tricky question, we are going to decide this tonight, so it is a
very appropriate question. Hey Gagarin will have to be single-ified,
it's not an appropriate length at the moment. I am working on three
tracks at the moment that could possibly become the next singles.

SimJean
Michel, I recently heard on the Radio 2 interview that you intend
performing an Internet-only concert - can you elaborate on that?

JMJ Yes,
that's right. I am quite interested in trying to explore new ways of
performing. But I'm not sure about doing concerts that can only be
broadcast on the Internet, because many people are still not connected
with the medium.

Polly F Your
new album evokes the feel of HiNRG and Disco such as New Order (Give Me
A Sign) and the Pet Shop Boys? Can you recognise their work in yours?

JMJ Not
consciously, when you start to have electronic sounds and vocals,
people can think about influences, but music is about sharing. I'm sure
people such as New Order or Underworld have also influenced me. That is
what music is all about, mixing...

Joost LommersMany
"electronic" musicians only compose for their CD releases, they never
perform live. Do you find that composing music that must be performed
live constrains you in any way? Is it different than purely composing
for the record only, and in what way?

JMJ I
have always composed music for records only, I never think about
concerts when I am creating. Then afterwards I think about how it can be
performed. I attempt to find a solution of how to perform electronic
music on stage, electronic music is not the sexiest music in the world
when performed live, so you have to invent a technical grammar, create a
spectacle.

JackieHello, Jean Michel. Jackie from Spain here. What do you think you will be composing when you are 65 years old?

JMJ I
hope that nobody can predict this in their own lives. I don't feel that
way, I even have no idea what the next record will be.

pttaIs
it coincidental that "Love Love" was sung by Christophe and that "Tout
Est Bleu" sounds a little bit like "Les Bleus Au Coeur"? Is it a
coincidence or is it done to remind you about the time when you wrote
the lyrics for Christophe?

JMJ To
explain this, I used to write lyrics a few years ago for some rock
singers, like Francoise Hardy and famous artists in France. I like to
play with words; if it sounds similar, it was unconscious.

GrahamPop
songs are often covered, classical music is played by various
orchestras and used in modern music, but electronic music is rarely
covered. It's rare that you see interpretations of your compositions,
for example, by another famous artist. Do you know why?

JMJ Yes
- it is because, with electronic music and technology now you do not
need scores anymore. Nowadays with electronic music you can be like a
painter. Electronic music doesn't need to be covered, it can be mixed.
There is no need for it to be played by other people because you have
the original.

FosiAre you going to sell new tracks on your website?

JMJ New
tracks on my website? Yes, to panic my record company I think I am
going to do it in the next few months, just by injecting new songs
regularly. The beauty of the Internet is to use it as an artist and to
show that after all we have control of what we are doing.

GaryJJJJean
Michel, I am a record producer/re-mixer (working under titles such as
Motiv 8). Many people like myself have been heavily influenced by your
work. Do you ever choose who re-mixes your work yourself?

JMJ Yes, and we have big arguments with John Best, the guy behind the camera. He is responsible for half of this!

Bignath JMJ, is the rumour of you acting in a movie true?

JMJ Acting
in a movie? It is probably true! Yes, it is a Belgian project, a very
funny story about a Romanian guy looking for a musician, and I played a
role in this film. It was with a very talented cartoonist, there are two
guys, Benoit and Francois and they had developed a very interesting
world, all their characters are developed in a surrealistic way. Very
Magritte.

Yost Mr. Jarre, is there an artist that you never collaborated with yet, but that you really would like to work with in the future?

JMJ Yes, a lot of people, the list is too long. Mozart, but probably a bit difficult.

john2Do you still talk to Ms Rampling?

JMJ Every day. We spoke in the taxi three hours ago.

Alan AntrobusI
was also wondering how you feel about Sony releasing your other great
works, ie repackaged and re-mastered. Do you feel that you are just
another Sony product?

JMJ We
should stop these kind of very contemptuous condescending attitudes and
being cautious about record companies, this is a cliché. It depends on
the record company and the artist. Everything should be discussed prior
to the release, but there isn't always time. When your record is
released, like it is the case this week where it is released in a lot of
countries at the same time, it isn't always the responsibility of the
record company. But I am happy with my relationship with Sony so far...

Joost LommersThis
is probably a very undiplomatic question, but how much artistic freedom
do you have? What is decided by you and what by Sony? Would you do
things differently if your music did not need to be released by a big
commercial record company like Sony (or Polydor)?

JMJ I
think that Stanley Kubrick had a very good line - I am doing my film
for my fans. Well I am doing my music for my fans. I have never been
told what I should do since I began in this business.

wulumuluMr Jarre, in 12DOTS, some people have mentioned a 13th dream... what's that about?

JMJ A
13th dream? It is referring to the 12 dreams of the Sun, the Pyramids.
It is something that was discussed and was on the Internet. The 12
Dreams of the Sun was performed between 10.30 and 12.30. It was
initially planned that I would come back again in the morning, and that
was thought of as the 13th dream.

Bells Mr. Jarre, is it true you're planning a concert for the Pope?

JMJ Two
weeks ago I was in Poland and all the TV stations asked me about this
concert I was going to do for the Pope in May. I am not aware of it, it
is a rumour.

pttaJean-Michel, are you aware that your records are not very well distributed in Belgium?

JMJ No,
I hope the record company in Belgium is listening! It seems that it is
working quite well in Belgium. Are they going in record shops or
somewhere else? You can order the record by Internet anyway.

DanielMWhen
I listen to your music, it conjures images in my mind. When you write
it do you have a sort of mental picture of what to create, or does the
melody occur to you rather than a visual image of the feeling?

JMJ It
was quite different for Metamorphoses. By using words it had a much
less abstract feel, not quite telling stories, but a kind of narrative
process.

Jonathan. J. BradleyWith
the ever-expanding world of music, one can still trace musical
statements, figures and motifs back to their classical ancestors. Were
you inspired by any of the great French contemporaries and if so who and
why?

JMJ Musicians?
I have been a big fan of Debussy and Ravel, it's quite impressionistic
music and it is very French in a sense, but I think I am always
influenced by them. My major influences come from the cinema.

Bells Mr. Jarre, are you on the jarre@clic.net mailing list?

JMJ Maybe, yes.

miltexJean Michel, I know that you like movies: which is your favourite movie at the cinemas right now, and your favourite ever?

JMJ At
the moment I really enjoyed Being John Malkovich and All About My
Mother, those two were my favourites. Also anything by David Lynch and
Stanley Kubrick.

Nino AurrichiI
am a composer, and have been writing for 13 years and I have trouble
creating fresh new work. How do you manage to come up with fresh ideas
after writing music for over 30 years?

JMJ I
think it is a difficult question, based on the idea I am not really
satisfied with what I have done, and am always trying to escape from the
label that people give me, or that I could put on myself. The best help
I can give though is: try to find what Brian Eno calls "transvessel
thoughts", try not to use the same instrument as last time, or the same
lighting. A good way is to break the routine, try something else.

Smirnov Who
else apart from people like Orbital, Underworld, Chemical Brothers
would you love to work with? Have you considered working with Brian Eno
or Philip Glass? Keep up the good work!

JMJ Aphex Twin, Air. No, I haven't considered working with Philip Glass, though I am not saying that I don't like him!

wulumulu Mr
Jarre, I would say that some parts of Chronologie (C3) sound almost
operatic. Have you ever wanted to write a great opera or something like
that?

JMJ I
have been confronted with the format of an opera - music mixed with the
visual technology of the 19th century are the carpenters, painters and
tools of today: satellite, video, Internet, they are the grammar of
electronic music. All that is very close to opera.

wulumulu In fact, if you didn't make music, what would you do for a living?

JMJ Architect probably - I really like architecture. Or dealing on the Internet, because then you can stay in your bed.

Agni Theologu I
have followed all your work since Oxygene. You seem to experiment with
trance vibes that are more into the club scene. Have you ever thought of
experimenting with drum'n'bass or other types like garage music?

JMJ Yes,
I worked with some very interesting musicians and the Apollo 440
drummer. A friend of mine called Paul Coghis was one of the first
drummers to invent a jungle feel, a totally different feel to
drum'n'bass, very refreshing. The gig I did for the closing ceremony of
the World Cup involved a lot of drum'n'bass.

JMJ We
are talking about it, nothing definite, maybe. It is actually something
that, well... I have always been close to Arthur C. Clarke, he is a big
influence in my life.

DragonLady How
often do you change your hairstyle and why? I draw your portrait
several times during a year for The Danish Jean-Michel Jarre Magazine
"Magnetic Fields", and each time the drawing is "hairstyle"-outdated.

JMJ I've managed to avoid so far the bald concept.

wulumuluMr
Jarre, do you read Internet message boards and newsgroups where your
fans post? Do their opinions influence your music? Would you like to do
more "real-time chat" similar to this?

JMJ Yes,
the best system I found is to be arbitrary on these issues. When I
opened my website I tried to read all the messages, and it took me an
entire day and then I realised that if I wanted to answer all these
people it would take all my time. The best way would be to pick
letters/emails at random. I try to absorb everything, I am like a
sponge.

JArtiste Jean Michel, are you planning to perform in the USA someday?

JMJ Yes,
though I am more interested in the East rather than the West these
days. So far I have been involved with the Middle East; this afternoon I
have been talking about specific projects in the USA and would like to
do something special there.

RemixerJean
Michel, over the past few years quite a few of us have noted that your
style has become more "commercialised". Rumour was this was because of
pressure from your record company, whereas other people are saying you
are trying to stay ahead of the crowd... How would you answer this?

JMJ If
it has been more commercialised, I would congratulate my record
company. I don't think that Metamorphoses is more commercialised than
anything else. It doesn't fit necessarily into the regular format that
the record company are expecting; it is very subjective. When you see
independent labels, I love that. I am with Dreyfuss, which is in fact
one of the last independent companies in France; but it is distributed
by Sony in France and has a record deal with Sony Worldwide. I am one of
the few artists faithful to an independent label - but as with all
record labels, their dream and their fantasy is to sell their label as
high as possible to as big a company as possible.

Spikey Which of your previous songs or albums gives you the greatest sense of achievement, and why?

JMJ None of them, or a very tiny percentage. It is the reason why I am continuing to try and improve myself.

Christophe Ketels What is your favourite sound?

JMJ The sound of the moon or also the cry of a fish - a goldfish particularly.

Low-ekAnd what about your "dream" of a concert on the moon ?

JMJ No, it is just... people keep asking me this, I think I will have to do it one day.

YaXoMoXaY Jean Michel, is it true you are planning a Metamorphoses tour? If yes, will you return to Italy or Milan?

JMJ Yes,
I am returning to Milan on Monday morning, very early flight, and I am
planning on doing something special in Milano or Venice.

Tim What is your favourite tune to play live?

JMJ Hey Gagarin

Tim Do you listen to your own work, and if not, what do you listen to?

JMJ No, I try to avoid that. What I am listening to at the moment is the Nine Inch Nails.

polarisDear
Mr Jarre, half of the Jarre@clic.net list hates Robert Miles - what do
you think about his music and dream/trance in general?? It was
influenced also by your music... is it possible it could influence you
now?

JMJ I
have no opinion. Might have been a big hit with Children, it was just a
dream music hit. I am not feeling necessarily close to this, but what
has been positive about this whole thing, it has created activity in
Italy and given the opportunity to countries outside to have
international exposure.

Milan CsaplarHow does it feel to play for such masses of people? What are your first thoughts before such concerts?

JMJ I don't think about all this - it makes you feel humble and tiny.

SimCan you tell us more about the Jarre special to be aired on BBC2 next week?

JMJ It is not going to be very interesting because it is not going to happen next week. You should watch out for it next month!

miltexJean Michel, I've heard some plans to collaborate with Danish hi-fi manufacturer Bang & Olufsen. What is this all about?

JMJ Yes
I am in contact with Bang & Olufsen for various things. I really
like the company; being always ahead of its time, being the only company
with high tech hi-fi. I think aesthetics are crucially lacking
nowadays. Hi-fi's are usually so ugly-looking, dull, grey, but Bang
& Olufsen try to concentrate on both the quality of the equipment
and the aesthetic side.

New_Age_dudeWill you finally team up with Vangelis some day?

JMJ No particular plan, I like Vangelis a lot, he is working in Greece and it would be nice to collaborate with him in Greece.

J. Manuel Martinez-MattarAs
a big fan of yours in Mexico, I was very disappointed when local
authorities didn't let you perform here in the Teotihuacan Pyramids. Now
that we all saw your performance at the best New Year's Eve concert in
Egypt, in the name of all your fans in Latin America, I ask you to
consider scheduling a live concert here. Do you still want to come back?

JMJ Absolutely,
this project in the Aztec Pyramids, was a great project. Unfortunately
it didn't happen for technical reasons on the Mexico side, but I would
love to try to do it again.

Elin NylanderWhat are your hopes and dreams for the future? Is there anything you haven't done yet but wish to do?

JMJ To be able to give people hopes and dreams for the future through my work and music.

The total number of page views

Jean Michel Jarre first came to international fame with his number one hit album, « OXYGENE » which went on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide.

A pioneer in his field, Jarre has largely contributed to the fastest growing musical revolution of the 20th century, electronic music : conceiving music in terms of sounds rather than only in terms of notes, and thus allowing the composer to become his own craftsman.

Having followed formal studies of harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatoire de Paris, he was inspired to reinvent music at its core, with his own singular vision, deploying the technology and tools of his epoch.

This pioneering approach gave birth to worldwide hit albums such as "OXYGENE","EQUINOXE", MAGNETIC FIELDS", "ZOOLOOK", "RENDEZVOUS", "WAITING FOR COUSTEAU"...over 80 million albums sold to date.

Following through with his revolution in music, he also conceived a brand-new genre and format of concerts; breaking away from the traditional theatre and arena context, Jarre brought his music and vision outdoors to the masses. Often free and open-to-all, these stateof- the-art concert-spectaculars showcase the natural or urban environment in which they are performed -- a truly singular sonic and visual "land-art" event, conceived and performed on a unique scale for a one-off experience.

Jarre's legendary concerts have attracted Guinness Record-breaking audiences across the planet. They take place in exceptional settings, marking extra-ordinary contexts: first western musician invited to perform in post-Mao Red China, Millennium at the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Houston City concert in collaboration with NASA in memory of the Challenger space crew, Concert for His Holiness Pope John Paul II, France's Eiffel Tower in celebration of World Cup victory, Gdansk's shipyard at the initiative of Nobel Peace Laureate Lech Walesa, London's Docklands, Beijing's Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, the Sahara Desert...to the absolute record live audience of 3.5 million in Moscow.

Most recently, Jean Michel Jarre embarked on his first ever world tour which has already taken him to over 30 countries with over 220 performances.

July 2011, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco called upon Jean Michel Jarre to celebrate his Royal Wedding by creating and performing a concert-event in the Principality which was largely broadcast on television & Internet worldwide to an estimated audience of 3 billion.

The French musician has a dedicated ongoing engagement to the United Nations via UNESCO, as Ambassador and spokesperson for Environment and Education.